C22 The Mission Was Triggered and He Won First Place!!

Yang Rui stood rooted to the spot, utterly devoid of any desire to laugh.

The system had just sprung a mission on him, leaving him torn between laughter and tears.

"Ding! Host has triggered a Growth Type Mission: Claim First Place!"

The mission details are as follows:

Advance to the top 32! Earn a level increase of +1.

Advance to the top 16! Receive a random Level B skill.

Advance to the top 8! Acquire a random Level B weapon.

Advance to the top 4! Obtain a special item.

Claim first place! Gain access to open the Merchant Shop!

Mission failure penalty: All attributes reduced by 50%!"

Damn!

Damn!

Damn!

These rewards are incredible!

It's like I'm being pushed to claim first place no matter what!

I just wanted to stay under the radar, but it seems reality won't permit it. I need to step up my game and avoid a disastrous upset! And a 50% reduction in all attributes? That's just brutal! It could be the death of me!

Just then, a figure snapped him back to reality.

"Rest for an hour; then we'll proceed with the selection for the top 128!"

To advance to the top 128 meant that at least four people would be eliminated from each arena! This is truly thrilling. Who in this arena could possibly challenge me? Yang Rui glanced around at the wary youths eyeing him and flashed them a mischievous grin.

Without further ado, he sat down cross-legged, appearing to recuperate but actually checking his stats:

Level: 13

Experience: 40357/55000

Stage: Origin Martial Stage, Third Segment (97%)

Vitality: 1350/1350

Attack: 158.4/158.4

Constitution: 39.5/39.5

Agility: 25.2/25.2

Strength: 25.2/25.2

Spirit: 38.4/38.4

Status: Normal

Sigh, leveling up is still a ways off. Staring at the overly simplistic interface before him, Yang Rui couldn't help but wonder if he'd been saddled with a defective system—if not for those Gain Skills.

Forget it, there's still an hour left. I should focus on cultivating properly. My Qi Sea isn't even full yet—it's downright embarrassing.

Currently, Yang Rui's Qi Sea no longer contained mist-like Elemental Energy, but rather droplets of pale golden Elemental Energy, resembling a small puddle in the vast expanse of his Qi Sea. Yet, the concentration of Elemental Energy in this tiny puddle was astonishingly dense! Normally, a person's Elemental Energy is as light as a droplet of water, but Yang Rui's was as heavy as metal, a quality of Elemental Energy unheard of at the Origin Martial Stage.

Nevertheless, Yang Rui's sole desire was to fill his Qi Sea, enabling him to level up once more. He was well aware, however, that this was a monumental task.

Time sped by, and Yang Rui opened his eyes—a sharp glint flashed by.

His aura was incredibly steady, showing no sign of fluctuation, making it impossible for the average person to gauge his true power.

"The second round of the top 128 elimination is about to begin, and it's still a group battle format! Each contestant must defeat another to advance!"

With the announcement, tension gripped the various stages. Advancing among the top 128 was no longer a matter of collaboration; it was all about individual strength. To emerge victorious, one's personal power was crucial. Consequently, everyone distanced themselves, eyeing their former allies with caution.

"Pfft! Dragging things out like this is so pointless. I'm the one who's going to take first place!" Yang Rui couldn't help but laugh at their guarded stances.

"You bunch of errand boys, I don't have time to dilly-dally with you! Take this!" Yang Rui suddenly bellowed and charged at one of the contestants!

What the heck! Why are you coming at me???

Ding Jie, the target of Yang Rui's charge, was taken aback. But Ding Jie was no pushover. You think you can just come and beat me? I'll knock you out!

"Ha! Mountain Breaking Fist!" Elemental Energy surged through Ding Jie's fists as he launched a punch directly at Yang Rui, the air around them seemingly screeching in response.

Yang Rui watched Ding Jie's oncoming fist with contempt, "Idiot! Did you really think I'd go toe-to-toe with you?"

Ding Jie remained silent and launched a punch toward Yang Rui.

Just as a confrontation seemed imminent, Yang Rui vanished from Ding Jie's sight!

"What!"

Yang Rui, who was initially set to face off with Ding Jie, suddenly materialized in front of someone else. He and Xu Hsing locked eyes for an entire second.

Before Xu Hsing could react, Yang Rui delivered a swift kick!

"Ah!"

By the time Xu Hsing realized what was happening, he was already airborne, with no way to return to the ground. After all, there were no techniques available at this stage that allowed one to stroll through the air.

So, Xu Hsing could only watch himself crash to the ground. Lying there, he wanted nothing more than to enjoy some peace and quiet, and certainly didn't want anyone asking who 'quiet' was.

Ding Jie, who had put his all into his attack, also wore a look of frustration. That scoundrel had suddenly popped up, prompting him to throw a full-force punch, but then the scoundrel had the audacity to switch targets to Xu Hsing, leaving Ding Jie with no outlet for his punch! He couldn't pull it back, nor could he land it! The discomfort was intense... Suddenly, a surge of energy backlash hit, and Ding Jie felt as if his arm had been partially impaled by an immense force!

"Damn it!" That damned scoundrel!

But it was too late; he had already knocked out the hapless Xu Hsing and moved on. There was no one left to seek revenge against!

Meanwhile, Yang Rui strolled off the stage with an easy gait, having secured his advancement. He no longer needed to remain on the stage, only to wait for the selection of the top 68 from the top 128 for the next round.

"Ah, such loneliness! Winning was just too easy!" Yang Rui boasted to himself.

All the cultivators present, each with formidable skills, rolled their eyes at his words. It was bad enough that this guy had won, but his self-congratulation was too much. Did he even understand how he had won? They all inwardly raged.

The spectators fell silent, contemplating the young man's audacious style.

"This..." Yang Zhantian was torn between amusement and exasperation. Was this really his son's approach? Instead of engaging directly, the young man resorted to trickery, feigning weakness to provoke chaos and launching surprise attacks. Who could stand such tactics? And who had taught him these moves? Couldn't he face his opponents head-on like his father?

Sikong Jiao watched Yang Rui descend from the arena with a tender gaze and mused, "It looks like I don't need to worry about Rui coming to any harm."

Meanwhile, Yang Rui had made his way to the platform where his big sister, Yang Qingcheng, was in the midst of a battle with Ximen Yu of the Ximen family.

"Wow, isn't that the second son of the Ximen family? He's actually up against my second sister? This is getting interesting."

Inhaling deeply, Yang Rui suddenly bellowed, "Big sister, smash this guy's head in! Make him pay for Ximen Haoyu's constant bullying!"

At that, every member of the Yang family facepalmed. We do not know this person!